CLERMONT COUNTY – The Midland Redskins are an 18U team that is the defending champion of the Connie Mack World Series. This season, they could have some company in New Mexico as Midland's 17U Braves are playing for a spot.

While the Redskins have a few familiar local players, the Braves are made up primarily of some of the best baseball talent in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Kyle Wainscott has coached at Midland for seven years, the last four with the Braves.

'We go out and try to get the best local kids we can to play on this team," Wainscott said. "I think we have four states represented on this team, but the majority is from a 15-minute radius. (There's) really good high school baseball here and we try to keep them here locally."

Ryan Galanie of Moeller prepares to lead-off at first base for the Midland Braves. Behind him is Braves first base/pitching coach Scott Stocker who is Madeira's head coach during the high school season. The Enquirer/Scott Springer

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At 17, the current Braves have all demonstrated an ability to play at a higher level at early ages. Six on the roster are 2020 grads that are playing "up" with two 2018 grads (Adam Schneider of Covington Catholic and Ryan Moravek of Moeller) falling in the allowable age parameter. Schneider recently was called up to the 18U Redskins which is the ultimate summer goal of any player in the organization.

With the CovCath Colonels, Schneider was on their Kentucky state champion football team as a cornerback and an infielder on their baseball team. The "baseball rat" (as described by Wainscott) will be playing next at Sinclair Community College.

"We lost in the regional final at Highlands," Schneider said of his senior year. "I think (this) is a little better with all of the quality arms we face."

Most of the current Redskins were Braves at one point coached by Wainscott. Current Boston Red Sox starter Andrew Benintendi (Madeira) was briefly a Brave at 16 before quickly being summoned to the Redskins where he immediately went on the Division I recruiting radar.

"We have three kids from Michigan and a kid from Arizona, Luke Bell (son of former Moeller Crusader and MLB player Mike Bell) and a kid from Nashville," Wainscott said. "Other than that, we're right here in Northern Kentucky and Ohio."

Helping Wainscott as pitching coach/first-base coach is Scott Stocker, Madeira's head coach. The Mustangs are represented by pitcher Casey Wirsing and outfielder Matt Megois. 2018 grad Sam Wirsing is on the Redskins.

Wainscott and Stocker hope to guide the Braves into the Connie Mack World Series in New Mexico where only the Redskins have qualified before. To boot, the Braves are splitting up in tournaments with about half playing in the Connie Mack qualifier at Midland and the other half going to Indianapolis to play in the National Amateur Baseball Championships with about 100 other teams.

Among others on the Braves is Mason slugger JP Sponseller, whose junior year ended in the Division I state semifinal when his 360-foot fly ball was caught and the Comets run ended at Huntington Park. On many high school fields, the ball might have been gone.

"I was out here the next day," Sponseller said. "We lost in a heartbreaker (1-0) so I was ready to get back out here. I think we have a lot of fun. We work together in the dugout. We struggled a little bit last week, but we kind of got ourselves together and started having fun again."

Another Brave that was ready for summer ball is outfielder Gavin Pitts of West Clermont. The Wolves also lost a tough one in the playoffs to Elder 2-1 to end their season. Pitts was able to play with all-state first-teamer Cal Conley during the school year and Conley's been a Midland Redskin mainstay the past three seasons.

"I learned everything from Cal this year and it's made me so much better as a baseball player," Pitts said. "I owe him a lot."